Skip to main content

How to Trap More Raccoons This Season

Harvest more raccoons this season, while reducing incidental captures, with dog-proof traps.

How to Trap More Raccoons This Season
Trails near den trees and downed trees can be good spots for dog-proof traps. Look for sign—scat or prints—near both. (Shutterstock photo)

There are several different ways to trap raccoons, but one of the easiest and most effective is using dog-proof traps. Suitable for both beginner and advanced trappers, these simple traps, when placed in the right spots, work very well. If raccoons have become a problem on your property and you need to manage the population, familiarize yourself with dog-proofs and get to work.

SET THE TRAP

Dog-proofs are basic devices featuring a cylinder-type trap with a trigger inside. The cylinder is attached to a stake and chain. Once the trap is staked—either at an angle or up and down—or secured to a tree, place your bait within the cylinder and beneath the internal trigger. To set the trigger, squeeze the spring on the trap’s side and set the latch. That’s it. Now, wait for a curious raccoon to check it out.

After a raccoon finds the trap—usually with its nose—it’ll stick its paw into the cylinder to dig out the bait. This will trip the trigger, and the paw will become trapped inside the tube, which is how you’ll find your catch when you next check the trap. As its name suggests, this trap’s entire design is based around preventing dogs—which are unable to reach in and pull up on the trigger—from getting their paw trapped in the device.

Consider a few things before heading out to set traps. First, always prepare your traps by waxing and dying them. This process could be its own short article, but it essentially involves cleaning traps in boiling water, submerging them in a special dye, coating them with a thin layer of wax and letting them hang to dry. This helps prevent them from rusting in the field and keeps them working in top condition.

A pile of raccoon traps that have been waxed and dyed.
Before setting out dog-proof traps, be sure to wax and dye them. This helps prevent them from rusting and ensures they’re in proper working order. (Photo by Ryan Fair)

Next, bring along a good, heavy-duty stake, which will prevent your catch from walking off with your trap. Lastly, ensure you have a reliable, effective tool for dispatching any captured raccoons. I feel a .22- or .17-caliber rifle or pistol is the most ethical way to dispatch your catch, but you can find a few other methods with a quick search online. Although rare, dog-proofs have caught opossums, foxes, skunks and even small cats. Carry a catch pole when checking traps to release any unintended captures.

BAIT ’EM UP

Most trapping and lure companies produce some sort of bait or lure intended to appeal to raccoons, with many carrying fitting names like Raccoon Delight or Cotton Candy Coon Lure. Smokey’s Raccoon Bait is a personal favorite. However, if you don’t wish to spend money on special baits to trap raccoons, just check your pantry. Sardines are another great bait I frequently use, as they’re cheap and raccoons seem to be able to smell them from a long distance. Other go-to baits include dry or canned cat food, cereals and countless of other foods and snacks.

FIND THE SPOT

We’ve covered the basics of the trap and some baits to use, but where should dog-proofs be placed? Well, the simple answer would be anywhere raccoons want to be. A little scouting can help determine this, but in general, I like to set my traps in four key places.

For starters, I’ll always anchor a dog-poof trap to a downed tree littered with raccoon scat. For some reason, these critters view downed trees as some type of major highway to travel along. Trails leading to or from a den tree—usually one that is hollow—are good locations, too. Finding raccoon sign, such as prints or scat, around such trees is a dead giveaway.

A raccoon sits next to a drainage ditch.
Creeks, waterways and drainage ditches are good trap locations, as prints are easy to spot. Use heavy-duty stakes to anchor traps. (Photo by Ryan Fair)

Creek banks can be similarly good. I’ll walk along the banks looking for tracks in the mud, and when I see hot sign, I’ll stake a trap down and see what happens. Lastly, waterways that run through agricultural fields, especially picked corn fields, can be dynamite for trapping raccoons. If you use corn as a bait for deer—either on the ground or in a feeder—I’m sure your trail cameras have captured plenty of images of raccoons stealing a few bites.

Speaking of trail cameras, I like using cellular trail cameras to monitor my traps. In a recent conversation with a local game warden, I learned that if you receive a daily check-in photo from your camera that lets you see the trap, this can be an acceptable way to monitor it. You should, of course, check your state or local regulations, or speak with someone from your local wildlife agency, to confirm this is legal in your area. However, this allows me to run more traps, especially in places I can’t get to every day. Regardless of what baits you use, where you set your traps or what traps you use, have fun, follow the rules and do your part as a steward of the land.


  • This article was featured in the December/January 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Guns

Watchtower Bridger - Hybrid Precision Technology Calls to Mountain Men and Adventure.

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

New for 2025: Streamlight MegaStream USB Hand-Held Flashlight

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

New Winchester Ammo for 2025: Long Beard TSS & 21 Sharp

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

New From Spypoint: FLEX-DARK And FLEX-S-DARK Cellular Trail Cameras

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

Remington Core-Lokt Tipped Lever Gun .360 Buckhammer

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

Abu Garcia Revo Premier

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

Cashion Icon Bait Finesse Rod

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

Dryshod Evalusion Hunt Boots Keep Whitetail Hunters on Top of Their Game

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Gear

Tackle Junkie: Lew's Custom Pro Gen 3

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Other

Light up the Salt

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Fishing

Caring for the Catch

The snook is an ambush predator of the saltwater shallows, often hiding among mangroves and attacking prey as it swims b...
Fishing

Snook on the Hook

Game & Fish Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Game & Fish App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Game & Fish stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Game & Fish subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Game & Fish stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use